The New Life (CANCELLED)
by MrmarioRBLX
Summary: A mistake and a mix-up lands Conan in an unusual position. He's back where he should be, sitting in his old seat at high school. So what's the catch? He's still seven. The original version of this fanfiction is written by Justin44. It hasn't been updated in nearly two years. I like the idea of this fanfiction, which is why I'm continuing it.
1. Chapter 1: Recap

This is the continuation of the fanfiction called "The New Life" by Justin44, which hasn't seen an update in nearly 2 years. If you haven't read it yet, allow me to make a summary of what happened in what he has published.

* * *

Conan is in for some seriously bad news when the seeds of a plant that is crucial for the production of the APTX4869 antidote are officially banned in Japan. Knowing that, because of this, becoming Shinichi again is completely impossible, he convinced Megure to fake Shinichi's death. At first, he moves in with Agasa, but everything changes the next day at school.

While Kobayashi was bringing tests to her classroom, she bumped into a 6th grade teacher who was doing the same. She quickly picked up her tests. At the end of the day, she was grading them, just when the 6th grade teacher, Harumi, came in to inform her that one of her tests, for algebra, got mixed up into Kobayashi's stack. When she finds it, Conan's name is on it. To the shock of both Kobayashi and Harumi, he got all questions right. The second surprise is that he did it in under 20 minutes, as Kobayashi remembered. This convinced the principal to let Conan take a placement test, the results of which shocked the overseer, Baines. After a talk with the principal, they decided to have Conan attend Teitan High.

When Conan starts his first day at Teitan High, he joins Ran and Sonoko's class, to their surprise. After class, Ran demanded an explanation. Conan makes up a story of having been bullied for his genius in the US, which is why he tried to look like a normal kid. After this series of sudden changes, Conan moves back in with Ran and Kogoro (who is equally surprised at the news).

That night, Conan is about to go to bed when the phone in the detective office rings. He picks up and learns of a number of bombs hidden in Teitan Elementary, the last of which is on the roof with the culprit, as a means of committing suicide. Conan manages to save him and the bomb explodes, just as the police arrive.

* * *

And that is where the story, published so far by Justin44, ends.


	2. Chapter 2: High School & Murder

**NOTE: The beginning of this chapter is (mostly) how it was in the end of the last chapter published by Justin44. Of course, I corrected the mistakes that were in that one part.**

* * *

"Thanks, little detective."

The police took the man away in a patrol car and Conan went to the agency.

When he arrived, he put his skateboard aside and opened the door. Ran was already waiting for him. She didn't look too pleased.

"Conan-kun!" Ran exclaimed as she approached the boy. "Where have you been!? I was really worried about you!"

"Ran-neechan." Conan muttered, trying to think of a good excuse.

* * *

Conan was rather nervous, as he could see Ran wasn't in a very good mood. He can't blame her, as he promised to go to bed as soon as he was done with the phone call. He decided he'd better explain why he was gone.

"Ran-neechan, sorry for leaving when I shouldn't have, but that phone call was from someone who put bombs in Teitan Elementary. I had until midnight to disarm them. I managed to disarm all but one of those bombs. In the end, that man has been arrested by the police."

"You disarmed them?" Ran asks in disbelief. "That's amazing, Conan-kun, but you still need to go to bed because we need to go to school tomorrow."

"All right, Ran-neechan." Conan says as he goes to his room, changes into his pajamas and goes to sleep.

* * *

The next day, Ran and Conan go to Teitan High, where Conan is suddenly surrounded by students curious as to how a boy his age managed to get enrolled.

Conan is about to answer when Ran steps in.

"We just want to get to class, so please leave us alone."

As Ran's karate skills are quite well-known by all the students, they backed off immediately.

A few minutes later, Conan and Ran are in their classroom, sitting next to each other. When all other students are sitting, the teacher, Clive, came in and began teaching.

While everyone is taking notes, Clive sometimes calls on some of the students to answer questions about the subjects he's talking about. He asked Conan such questions three times already and amazed at how he got them all correct.

At the end of the school day, Ran and Conan go back to the Mouri Detective Agency. Just when they get back, the phone rings and Kogoro picks up. He talks for a minute before hanging up.

"The call was from Megure." he says. "He's at the scene of a crime and he can't make heads or tails out of it, so he requested my help. Conan, you and Ran say you're smart enough to get enrolled at Teitan High, but I'd like to see it for myself. Come with me."

* * *

Ten minutes later, the three arrive at a shared house, where a hanging had occurred. Megure is at the scene and tells them the details.

"The victim's name is Minamoto Hiroto (源 浩人). The cause of death was strangulation. The time of death was between 5:15 and 5:30 PM yesterday. His body was found this morning." Just as he finishes, he notices Conan is with Kogoro.

"Mouri-kun, why is Conan here?" he asks.

Kogoro replies "It's a long story, inspector, but I'd like to see just how smart he is."

Megure continues. "The other three people who live in this house, Suzuki Natsuki (回月 夏子), Ishikawa Takeshi (石川 壯) and Matsuda Takeru (松田 猛). At the time of death, Ishikawa and Matsuda were talking about school, while Suzuki was making dinner in the kitchen. The next morning, while Suzuki was washing dishes and Matsuda was taking a shower, Ishikawa went to wake Hiroto up when he noticed the door was locked. He went to get the spare key, opened the door and found him, hanging from the ceiling. He immediately went to call the police. All three have alibis for the time of death, but just in case, we searched each of their rooms when we arrived. In Suzuki's room, we found a lot of make-up, an empty cooler box, a few rolls of tape and scissors. In Ishikawa's room was a large stack of empty pizza boxes, several empty cans of beer and a laptop. Finally, in Matsuda's room was a large collection of various manga books and DVD's, along with some empty bags of potato chips."

Kogoro and Conan think about what they have been told. While Kogoro has no idea how any of that was relevant, Conan decides to ask who first found the body.

"That would be Ishikawa." Megure says. Conan decides to ask him about the details when he found the body.

Ishikawa replies "I'm not sure if I should tell it to a little kid, but I'll talk. When I found Hiroto's body, I immediately went over to him to get him off the rope that was hanging from the ceiling. When I got close, I slipped and fell on the floor for some reason. Anyway, within one minute, I got him on the ground and immediately went to call the police. When the others came into the room after I made the call, they were equally shocked to see him dead."

Conan decides to ask him one last question. "Was there anything you noticed when you found the body?"

Ishikawa thinks for a minute before answering. "Now that I think about it, there was something I noticed. He never told me he was going to get his wrists and mustache shaved, so I was quite surprised to see those two parts of his body completely free of hair."

Just then, Kogoro comes back from asking Megure something and says "Guess what, little kid? The room was locked, the spare key was in the living room and the only other key to the victim's room was in the room itself, which means it could only have been suicide!"

Conan asks "Where was the key found?"

Kogoro says "It was on the floor under the body. For some reason, it and part of the victim's shirt were a little bit wet when the body was found, but I don't see why that's relevant. What is important here is that it can only be a suicide."

Conan asks one last question to confirm something. "Were there any fingerprints on that key?"

Megure overheard him and answers. "No, there were no fingerprints on the key."

With that answer, Conan has figured out who the culprit is and where to find the evidence.

* * *

 **All the clues you need to solve this case are in the text. I'll have to admit, I'm not very good at making up murder tricks. If you think you figured it out, please tell me what you think in a review.**


	3. Chapter 3: Detective Conan

Conan is confident that he figured out who killed Minamoto.

Kogoro notices him smiling. "Don't tell me you still believe it's a murder. Like I said, Minamoto was hanged in a room that was locked, as Ishikawa said. Furthermore, all three of the people who live here, other than the victim, have an alibi! Do you really think there is any chance of this being murder and not suicide?"

Conan replies, confidently "Yes, I'm certain this is murder. In fact, I can explain exactly how it was done. First, allow me to explain the trick involving the "locked-room" aspect of this case. It's true that Ishikawa unlocked the door to find the victim's body. However, the key wasn't found inside the room until after the police got here."

Kogoro scoffs at this. "Come on! Are you telling me the killer had the key on him the whole time and put it back after Ishikawa left to call the police?"

Conan continues. "That's exactly what happened. The proof of this is that both the key and the back of the victim's shirt are a little wet. Since Ishikawa left right away, the one who put the key in the room had to have been one of the other two. As you'll recall, at the time, Suzuki was washing dishes and Matsuda was taking a shower. This means that the key and shirt would have gotten wet if either of them put it there. However, as Megure just told me, there were no fingerprints on the key, which means it was put back by someone who was wearing gloves. Kitchen gloves, in this case."

Just then, Kogoro realizes where Conan is going. "Then, don't tell me the killer is...!?"

"Exactly." Conan replies. "It could only have been you! Suzuki!"

Immediately, Suzuki objects. "You've got quite an imagination, little boy. Do you even understand what an alibi is? It means I couldn't have killed him, as I was nowhere near the scene of the crime, at the time of death."

"I'm aware of that." Conan says. "In fact, I even figured out how you set up that alibi."

"You do?" Suzuki asks. "Very well then, explain how I did so. If you can, that is."

Conan explains. "You used the cooler box in your room to make a large block of ice. Then, you put Minamoto to sleep, put the noose that was on the ceiling around his neck and positioned him on the block of ice. After you set this up, you locked the door and kept the key with you. Eventually, the ice would melt, causing Minamoto to hang, dying of suffocation as a result. The proof of this method being used was what Ishikawa told me earlier. When he went near the body, trying to get it off the noose, he slipped. This means that there was a large puddle of water under the body."

Hearing this, Suzuki objects again. "You're saying Minamoto was in that position for as long as it took for the ice to melt? Then tell me, why didn't he use his hands to remove the noose or even scream for help when he was awake?"

"Ishikawa also told me he noticed the hair on Minamoto's wrists and face was completely gone, as if it was forced off somehow. This proves that he was tied up with tape, which also covered his mouth. You knew that, if the tape was found on the body in those spots, the crime would have been linked to you. This is why you removed it when you went upstairs after dinner, locking the door again afterwards. The pieces of tape with the sticky side covered in the victim's hair haven't been found in any of the trash cans, which means it should be somewhere in your room. If we find those, with your fingerprints on them, it'll be solid proof that you used tape to tie him up, which proves you are the killer!"

Having heard his final explanations, Suzuki gives up and gets on her knees. "I did my best to think of a way to make it look like suicide, but it looks like Japan's youngest detective has seen through it all. I'm amazed a boy your age is this smart. As for my motive, that guy had the nerve to blackmail me! Seven years ago, we were part of a large-scale robbery and made off with about 2.5 million yen, which we divided between the 5 of us. But then, that guy started to feel guilty about the robbery and threatened to go to the police with evidence of our involvement unless I paid him my share of the money."

After the confession, Suzuki was handcuffed and brought to a police car.

Megure is quite surprised at Conan solving the case on his own. "Conan-kun, I have to ask. How did you get so smart?"

Conan tells him the same story he told Ran. How he was bullied for his genius in America, how he moved to Japan and told by his mother to act like a normal boy, about the mix-up in tests at Teitan Elementary and how, because of that, he now attends Teitan High.

"I see." Megure replies. "Conan-kun, if you're smart enough to attend Teitan High, it's likely that you're as smart as Kudo-kun. I'd like to see you solve a case again later."

* * *

 **This chapter marks the very first case Conan solves as himself. Not as Sleeping Kogoro, not via Ran or even as Shinichi (I don't count AO's).**


	4. Chapter 4: New Problems

The next morning, Kogoro is reading the newspaper. Conan can tell that he's rather angry for some reason.

"Is there something in the newspaper?" Conan asks.

"Yes." Kogoro replies angrily. "Take a look at this!" he says, as he shows Conan what's on the front page. The headline reads:

" _Murder or suicide? 7-year-old genius figures it out!_ "

"Read it to me. I refuse to believe any of this garbage otherwise." Kogoro demands. Conan starts reading.

" _Yesterday morning, a body was found in a shared house. Because the body was found in a locked room, some police officers considered it a suicide. That is, before a 7-year-old at the scene deduced exactly what happened, like a master detective. The name of the 7-year-old child has yet to be revealed. What makes this even more surprising is that Mouri Kogoro, a famous detective known as "Sleeping Kogoro" didn't make these deductions first. These facts will, without a doubt, bring Kogoro's detective skills into question. For this reason, we have held an interview with someone who knows this detective quite well and who refuses to let us mention his name. He says: "I am quite familiar with Mouri-kun. Several years ago, he was an officer on the police force. One of the worst, in fact. That is why he was let go. Even now, he makes deductions as poorly as he did back then. That is, until he stumbles around and sits, pretending to be asleep, which is why he's called "Sleeping Kogoro"." The things stated by the person who was interviewed brings new facts about Mouri Kogoro to light. These new facts seem to suggest that Kogoro really does fall asleep during his deduction shows, which raises the question "Who is making the deductions?". This matter will be looked into._ "

When Conan is done reading, Kogoro talks again. "See? They dare to claim that I, the great Mouri Kogoro, am not making the deductions I'm well-known for. Some nerve those article writers have. By the way, it's about time for you and Ran to go to school!"

" _Well, it's true anyway."_ Conan thinks.

After finishing breakfast, Conan and Ran head off to Teitan High. While Conan is walking there, he is thinking about the article he read.

" _This isn't good."_ He thinks. _"If it's revealed that I actually go to Teitan High as a 7-year-old, the media will quickly figure out that I'm the one who solved that case! If that news gets out, it will definitely reach Them as well. They're sure to be interested in something like a 7-year-old attending high school."_

Ran notices Conan thinking. "What are you thinking about, Conan-kun?" she asks.

This question startles Conan a bit. "U-uh, nothing." he says nervously. "Oh, look, we're at school."

* * *

That afternoon, Conan and Ran walk back to the detective agency. When they get back, they notice Kogoro lying on the couch.

"Dad? Is something the matter?" Ran asks.

"I wanted to watch TV, but all that is on there are news programs saying pretty much the exact same things as the newspaper from this morning. Ran, could you please make dinner for just you and Conan? I'm not in the mood to eat."

Right away, Ran puts on an apron. "Conan-kun, what do you want to eat?" she asks.

"Curry, please." Conan replies.

After dinner, Conan and Ran work on their homework. Ran is completely stumped at some of the questions, which Conan answers and explains. Afterwards, they go to bed.

* * *

Several weeks pass, in which Conan is getting used to going to Teitan High, rather than Teitan Elementary.

One day, during breakfast, Conan's worst fear has become reality, when Kogoro shows him the front page of a newspaper, with the headline:

"Incredible boy genius! 7-year-old at Teitan High!"

"Kogoro, may I please read it?" he asks.

Immediately, Kogoro hands him the newspaper and Conan reads the article:

" _Several weeks ago, a 7-year-old, whose name wasn't known at the time, managed to outsmart the police and even Mouri Kogoro, when he proved an apparent suicide was actually a murder and also revealed the culprit, like a master detective. Yesterday, new information has come to light, regarding a 7-year-old boy who has been rumored to attend Teitan High. The boy in question has been identified as Edogawa Conan, who lives with Mouri Kogoro and his daughter at the Mouri Detective Agency. It's currently unknown how a boy at the age of 7 managed to get into a high school._ "

After reading the article, Conan quickly looks outside, where he sees a large number of reporters standing at the bottom of the stairs.

* * *

Meanwhile, in an abandoned house just outside Tokyo, several people are gathered, three men and three women. One of the women speaks up.

"I don't care what it says in that newspaper! A 7-year-old can NOT be that smart!"

Then, one of the other women in the house says "Why not? After all, it does say he outsmarted Mouri Kogoro and attends Teitan High, despite being only 7."

In response to this, another man speaks up. "Why do you believe this sort of nonsense, Vermouth? Is this "Edogawa Conan" important to you for some reason?"

Vermouth replies "Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. What's it to you, Gin? Anyway, the reason I called you all here is to inform you of what "that person" thinks of the article. Allow me to show you." she says, as she turns on a tv.

On the screen is a black silhouette, talking in a distorted voice. " _Hello, my loyal followers. As Vermouth probably told you, I had her bring all of you here in order to discuss my thoughts on "Edogawa Conan", the supposed 7-year-old genius. While this is clearly nonsense, it is something worth looking into. After all, if this boy does indeed turn out to be this smart, he may end up becoming a second "Silver Bullet". I want all of you to investigate this boy. Chianti and Korn, I know you prefer sniping over spying, but this time, you will do the latter. Watch him every day for any signs of suspicious behavior, whether it's from him or any of his acquaintances. Kir and Vermouth, look into the boy's background. Gin and Vodka, in the event that the boy does turn out to be a threat, I want him and everyone connected to him eliminated by you. On this mission, I will not tolerate any activity other than the tasks I've assigned to each of you. That is all._ "

* * *

 **Just like Conan feared, the BO has found out about his genius and is after him.**

 **SPOILERS: Kir being assigned to the task of investigating Conan will lead her to discovering his true identity.**


	5. Chapter 5: Kir's Discovery

Several weeks pass, during which Conan was under surveillance by Chianti and Korn. What they don't know is that, since day one, Conan was completely aware of it and pretended to be as normal as a 7-year-old attending high school could be, while he thought of a plan to trap those two. While he's inside the detective agency, in a place where they can't see what he's doing, he first contacted Haibara, telling her not to meet with him for a week. Three days after that, he contacts Jodie and the FBI, asking them to head to the building across the street as quietly as possible. They do what he asked and send Jodie and Camel to the building in question, which they enter.

"Jodie, are you sure this plan won't go wrong? I mean, what if Chianti and Korn somehow noticed us entering this building?" Camel asks.

Jodie, confidently, whispers "They couldn't have noticed us, Camel. Cool Kid described, step by step, how to enter this building completely unnoticed. Now quiet, there they are."

The two quietly walk over to the agents and immediately move in to arrest them. The resulting struggle was brief, but ended with the BO agents both in handcuffs. Just then, Conan walks in, to everyone's surprise.

"My, my, Chianti and Korn. Did you two really think I wouldn't have noticed your surveillance over the past few weeks?" he says, proudly, before turning to Jodie. "Jodie-sensei, could you make sure they don't have any way of contacting the rest of the BO? Also, make sure they're held in a place where no BO agent would ever look."

"Sure, Cool Kid, but what are you gonna do? When they find out Chianti and Korn are no longer actively surveilling you, they'll be sure to go after you." Jodie says.

Conan, confidently, replies "I need to make sure they have no way of contacting any BO agents, in order to make sure they don't reveal that the FBI captured them. Meanwhile, I'll send texts from both their cell phones to the boss, which will say that they intend to betray the BO. After all, chances are that Chianti and Korn regularly sent messages to the boss. He'll be sure to get suspicious if those suddenly stopped coming, unless they claim to abandon the BO. Before I forget, check thoroughly to see if they've got any trackers."

"Now I remember," Jodie said. "Shu said, back at the hospital, you actually know the boss' mail address."

* * *

Meanwhile, Kir and Vermouth have been looking in several archives, looking for any background information on Conan, with help from Vermouth's disguises.

"That's odd." Kir remarks. "There are no details of the boy from when he was under 7 years old. It's as if he just appeared out of thin air. At any rate, it looks like there's nothing much we can learn from these files. Let's go."

While Kir walks towards the exit, she walks past section K in the "deceased" part of the archives and notices a file labeled "Kudo Shinichi". She has heard of the cases he's solved before and decides to look in the file. Right away, she notices two details about his death that are off.

 _"This is odd."_ she thinks. " _This says that this boy died a long time after Gin and Vodka forced APTX4869 down his throat. Back then, his death was confirmed, but that was before the date listed here. It doesn't say the cause of death was unable to be determined. What's going on here? Wait a minute. Kudo disappeared the same day Conan-kun appeared. Could it be, they're the same person!?"_

Kir's thoughts are interrupted when her phone rings. She checks it quickly to see a message sent by the boss. She reads it over. It says:

" _To the agents who received this message. I have scheduled a new meeting. Meet at the same abandoned building as before at 12 AM sharp. There is an urgent matter that has come up, which I will discuss you you then."_

* * *

That night, the BO members head to the building.

Just like the previous meeting, a TV turns on, revealing a black silhouette, talking in a distorted voice. " _Hello again, my agents. It's quite likely that you are curious as to why I arranged this new meeting so suddenly. Earlier today, I have received a message from Chianti and Korn, the contents of which has enraged me severely. It seems that they're incredibly frustrated over being assigned to spying and not sniping, to the point that they dared to betray us. For this reason, I have made changes to your assignments. The current task for all four of you is simple: Find Chianti and Korn and show them that they can't betray the Organization and live afterwards. It is up to you whether you work together or separately. That is all."_

After hearing the new message, Kir gets an idea. " _This is perfect. If I work alone on this, I could get an opportunity to talk to Conan-kun and confirm whether or not he is Kudo Shinichi."_ she thinks, just as she hears a conversation between Gin and Vermouth.

"I take it you're going to work alone on this new mission, Vermouth?"

"Of course, considering you seem to hate me." Vermouth says before adding "As if you believe I'll betray the Organization some day."

Hearing this, Gin replies "The very idea of you betraying the Organization one day is enough to get me to kill you. That is, if you weren't _that person_ 's favorite. Why are you that. anyway?" he asks.

"Tsk, tsk, Gin." Vermouth says. "Did you forget already? A secret makes a woman, woman."

* * *

The following day, when Conan and Ran leave Teitan High, Conan gets a message on his phone. He sees it's from Kir and says "Ran-neechan, sorry, but Agasa asked me to try out a new game he has made. I'll be back later!"

As soon as he's out of Ran's sight, he opens the message and reads it.

" _Hello, Conan-kun. I know this is the first time I directly sent you a message, but I want to talk about something in private. Meet me in the living room of the abandoned Kudo house in one hour."_

One hour later, Conan enters the empty house, goes to the living room and sees Kir there, alone.

"Hello." she says before asking "How does it feel, setting foot in a house you haven't been in for a long time, Kudo Shinichi?"

* * *

 **As I said in the previous chapter, Kir discovers Conan's identity and confronts him to confirm it.**

 **I know, Chianti and Korn being caught this easily is a bit OOC, considering they're members of the BO.**


	6. Chapter 6: Confrontation

"How does it feel, setting foot in a house you haven't been in for a long time, Kudo Shinichi?"

Hearing her ask this, Conan is shocked. Immediately, he asks "What do you mean, "Kudo Shinichi"? My name is Conan!"

Kir shakes her head. "No." she says. "Ever since you told me your deduction back at Haido Central Hospital, I realized something about you was different than other children your age. Ever since, I've been thinking about this. But then came the news of you attending Teitan High and the boss assigning me and Vermouth to look into your background. There was nothing about you to be found from before you were 7 years old. It's as if you appeared out of thin air. By mere chance, I noticed one of the files in the "Deceased" section, with the name "Kudo Shinichi" sticking out of the rest. I took a peek and noticed he disappeared the same day you appeared. Even though, that day, Gin and Vodka gave you APTX4869, the date of your "death" was over a year later."

After hearing her explanations, Conan gives up. "I guess you did see through me, after all. You're right. I am Kudo Shinichi. I don't know why, but the APTX4869 Gin forced me to take shrunk me instead of killing me. The reason Shinichi "died" a year later is because a crucial ingredient of the antidote was made illegal in Japan."

"Antidote?" Kir asks. "I didn't think such a thing was even possible. How did you get such a thing?"

"Before I tell you," Conan says. "I want to ask one thing. Did you check if you had any bugs on you?"

Kir scoffs. "What kind of NOC do you take me for? It may have been a long time since my father died in the line of duty due to my own mistake, but I learned to check for bugs every time I make my own moves."

"Very well then." Conan says before explaining about how Sherry shrunk, was given the alias Haibara Ai and how she lives with Agasa, the one living next to Shinichi's house.

"I see." Kir replies. "I suppose, in that case, it's a good thing nobody other than me knows about the shrinking effect of APTX4869."

To her surprise, Conan shakes his head. "I'm afraid you're not the only one. Vermouth knows as well, but for some reason, she hasn't told anyone."

"Come to think of it," Kir said. "She didn't seem all that surprised when we learned from your file that nothing was mentioned from before you were seven years old."

Conan asks in surprise "What do you mean, "learned from my file"?"

Kir is silent for a moment, before she realizes what she just said. "Oops, I guess my past assignment slipped out. I was going to inform you sooner or later, anyway. Several weeks ago, when the article revealing your genius was published, _that person_ ordered me, Gin, Vodka, Vermouth, Chianti and Korn to gather and look into you. Me and Vermouth were assigned to investigate your background while Chianti and Korn were assigned to surveillance. However, earlier, my assignment changed with Chianti and Korn's betrayal. Now, I'm to work separately from the others, looking for them."

"I know what happened." Conan said. "I managed to become aware of their surveillance and had the FBI arrest them in secret, while I sent the boss a message from their phones, in which they claim to abandon the Organization."

"So you know the boss' mail address?" Kir asks. "You sure are full of surprises, Kudo-kun. At any rate, I need to get back to my assigned task. When I can, I will contact the FBI. As for your secret, it's safe with me."

* * *

Several days later, Conan and Ran go home, only to notice that Kogoro has a client. What they hear, however, surprises both of them.

"No, no, no!" the lady says. "I don't want any help from an amateur like you! I want that boy genius Conan to help me!"

Kogoro interrupts her rant. "But, lady, don't you know who I am? The great detective, Mouri Kogoro! Whatever troubles you, I can handle it!"

The lady scoffs. "Great detective, my foot! Everyone knows there is NO such thing as a great detective who ends up being outsmarted by a 7-year-old!" she says before noticing Conan and Ran at the door. Suddenly, she calms down. "Oh, hello, Conan-kun. Sorry for my outburst. My name is Shimizu Hana (干水 二亡). I had some trouble at my estate recently. I thought I'd ask Mouri-san for help, but then the article on his failure came out." she said as Kogoro glares at her.

"Did you say your name is Shimizu Hana?" Ran asks. "I've heard of you. You've been appearing in front pages of movie star magazines for the past 10 years or so, right?"

"That's right, dear! I'm quite well-known for my _genuine_ talent, unlike your father over there. Anyway, the thing is, I received this threat letter."

She shows Conan the letter, which says:

" _Your 30th birthday is coming up. It has been over 10 years since you took away everything from me. The punishment for your sins has been long overdue. Getting help from outside will not save you, for I have been right behind you for the past several years. No crime goes unpunished."_

She explains "I received this two weeks ago. Between then and now, I've been doing all I can to find the one who sent it. The only problem is that the contents of the letter alone are too little to go on. Could you please investigate this?"

Conan nods. Minutes later, he and Ran are riding in a limousine.

"Do you like it in here?" Shimizu asks. "It's the best I could find. And it's a foreign brand. That's what success gets you."

Just when Conan and Ran get out of the limousine, they walk towards the mansion. Conan looks behind him, noticing that the lady seems to be whispering something to the chauffeur, before she runs over.

"Sorry about that. It was something personal I had to arrange with him. Anyway, let's go inside."

As Shimizu, Conan and Ran go inside, the notice right away that several people are waiting inside.

"Let me introduce you to everyone who works here. This is my butler, Nishimura Kazuhiro (西群 一博). Next to him are my maids, Fujita Satomi (藤田 五臣) and Ueda Chiyo (上田 育四). There is also the chef, Nakano Kuro (中之 六郎) and the chauffeur, Matsumoto Minoru (松本 三駕)." she says before looking at her watch. "Oh! I need to do my nails! I'll see you later." she says before heading off.

Right after that, Conan asks one of the maids "Does she do that often?" to which the maid answers. "Yes. Always on the first Friday of each month, at the same time, to the minute. She is quite punctual, as far as that is concerned."

"Does she have any other habits?" Conan asks. The maid says "There is only one other habit like that. She takes a shower twice a week. Always on Monday and Friday and always while dinner is being made."

That night, Shimizu, Conan and Ran are waiting for dinner to be made. As they wait, Shimizu goes to the shower. Just then, the chauffeur leaves, saying he needs to check the car. At the same time, the butler goes to the basement to get some drinks for Conan and Ran, while both maids head to their rooms. 15 minutes later, the chef walks in, telling everyone dinner is ready. Everyone except Shimizu sits at the table to eat. 5 minutes later, the chef becomes curious, as Shimizu still hasn't come back. He goes to the shower room to check. He's horrified by what he sees and screams. Right away, Conan runs over and finds Shimizu with her throat slit. He checks, only to learn she has no pulse.

* * *

 **Looks like Conan has a new murder case to solve. As for the weapon, I have already given a clue as to what it was. Good luck figuring it out.**


	7. Chapter 7: New Murder Solved

Upon realizing that Shimizu has no pulse, he shouts, "Ran-neechan! Call the police!"

Within 25 minutes, the police arrive. Megure and Takagi are on the scene.

Takagi gives the details. "The victim is 29-year old Shimizu Hana. She died between 7:45 and 8:00 PM. The cause of death seems to be her slit throat."

After the explanation, Megure calls for each of the suspects in the house. "What are your names and your alibis for this time?"

The first to talk is the chauffeur. "I'm Matsumoto Minoru. I'm not only the chauffeur, but also a mechanic. At 8:00, I was in the garage, performing maintenance on the car, like testing to make sure it's working properly, cleaning and other such tasks."

Next are the maids. "My name is Ueda Chiyo. The one next to me is Fujita Satomi. At that time, we went to our separate rooms."

Then the butler answers the questions. "My name is Nishimura Kazuhiro. At the time, I went to the basement in order to bring drinks for everyone, including our two guests." he says as he looks at Conan and Ran.

Megure is surprised to see them. "Conan-kun! Ran-kun! What are you doing here?"

Conan explains "Shimizu-san asked me to help find out who sent this threat letter she received. She didn't want Occhan to handle it, as she said he's too incompetent for the job."

"I see. So Mouri-kun isn't here. Anyway, what's your name and alibi?" he asks the chef.

He answers "My name is Nakano Kuro. I was busy preparing dinner for everyone. Later, we were all at the table, except for Shimizu. I got curious and decided to check. I screamed when I saw her body."

After hearing this, Conan notices that the maids are thinking about something. "What is it?" he asks.

Ueda says. "It's just that, while the curry that Nakano-san made was delicious, something about its taste seemed different compared to the curry he made last time."

Suddenly, Megure announces "We have searched each of the suspects' rooms for anything that could've been used as the murder weapon. In Matsumoto-san's room, we found a Swiss army knife. In Ueda-san's and Fujita-san's rooms, we found several pairs of scissors. In Nishimura's room, we have found a large set of butterfly knives. Finally, in Nakano-san's room, there was nothing that could've been used to slit the victim's throat, but he could've used a kitchen knife as the murder weapon. The knives and the items we found in the other suspects' rooms will all undergo luminol tests to check for any traces of blood."

* * *

15 minutes later, Megure announces the results of the tests. "To my surprise, none of the items were shown to have had any traces of blood on them. It's starting to look like the murderer is not one of you and the crime was an outside job."

" _That's wrong."_ Conan thinks. " _The murder is definitely one of the staff members here. I have already heard enough to figure out most of the mysteries of this case. There is just one problem. Considering what everyone was doing before the body was found, it would've been impossible for that person to have done it. Unless..."_

Realizing something, he heads towards the garage right away and checks the car's underside. He turns on the flashlight in his watch and when he sees that it's dirty, he smiles.

" _So that's how the culprit managed to get the impossible done at the time of the murder. Now, I just need evidence. Wait a minute...if I'm right, the culprit's fingerprints are on something they shouldn't be on. I just need to confirm this with the maids."_

After heading back to where the suspects are, he asks "Hey, I got a question about what I asked earlier. Does Shimizu-san do that all on her own?"

The maid answers "Yes, she does. She is the only one in this house who has one of those."

" _And there is the evidence._ " Conan thinks. _"Now all I have to do is reveal everything to Megure."_

"Hold on, inspector Megure!" he exclaims. "I have figured everything out. Who the culprit is, what the murder weapon was and how he managed to fake an alibi!"

"You did, Conan-kun?" he asks in surprise. "Please tell me."

"Of course. The culprit here can only be...YOU!" he shouts as he points at one of the staff members.

* * *

 **I know, this chapter is not as long as the other chapters. Anyway, all the clues are in the text. Please note that the clues that are here do point to one of two different conclusions. Only one of the two is actually correct. Good luck figuring it out!**


	8. Chapter 8: New Case Solved, New Changes

"Hold on, inspector Megure!" he exclaims. "I have figured everything out. Who the culprit is, what the murder weapon was and how he managed to fake an alibi!"

"You did, Conan-kun?" he asks in surprise. "Please tell me."

"Of course. The culprit here can only be...YOU! Nakano!" he shouts, pointing at the chef.

The chef stands there, silent for a minute, before he talks. "Hold on, kid! I have an alibi. Did you forget? I was in the kitchen, making curry, while Shimizu was in the shower!"

Conan continues his explanation. "I figured out exactly how you did it. I don't know how, but you convinced the chauffeur, Matsumoto, to be the one cooking it instead. That's the reason the maids noticed something was off about the taste.

* * *

 _"It's just that, while the curry that Nakano-san made was delicious, something about its taste seemed different compared to the curry he made last time."_

* * *

"T-That's just because I decided to try using a different ingredient. It has nothing to do with me not having been in the kitchen!" he says, nervously.

Conan shakes his head. "If that were true, at least one staff member would've noticed." he says before asking the maids "Was there anything different about the appearance of the curry?"

Both maids shake their heads.

Suddenly, the chef remembers something. "If I recall, the chauffeur said he was in the garage, cleaning the car and other things. Which means he has an alibi as well."

"However, if he did do what he said he did, why is the car not clean? It is because he was never actually in the garage."

This makes the chef angry instead of nervous. "If that's true, what makes you think he didn't commit the crime?"

Conan answers "Because of one key piece of evidence. You see, for the curry we were served, you had to cut meat, using kitchen gloves. If you used the same gloves to commit the murder, traces of blood from the meat would've been found on it."

Suddenly, the chef interrupts. "You say that as if you know what the weapon is. That's just not possible, I'm afraid, because none of the potential weapons we had showed any traces of blood."

"That's simply because so far, only the belongings of the suspects were checked. Not those of the suspects. The weapon was, in fact, the victim's own nail clipper. Most types come with a very small blade, meant to be used for removing dirt from under the nails. Because she is the only one in the house with a nail clipper, it's impossible to have done it with any other but her own."

* * *

 _"Oh! I need to do my nails! I'll see you later."_

 _"Hey, I got a question about what I asked earlier. Does Shimizu-san do that all on her own?"_

 _"Yes, she does. She is the only one in this house who has one of those."_

* * *

"These facts also reveal what will prove the culprit was you, Nakano-san and not Matsumoto-san. As I said before, if you used kitchen gloves with blood from the meat on them, it would've been found on the nail clipper. For that reason, the culprit had to take them off before their crime, which left their fingerprints on the weapon. Since Shimizu-san was the only one who had a nail clipper, only her prints should be on it. The only other person whose prints are on it, has to be the culprit!"

Realizing he's got nothing left to argue against, Nakano gives up. "To think I'd actually be found out by a kid. Yes, I admit it. I killed her. That thief ruined my whole life. It was about 11 years ago that my sister started her work as an actress. Our family didn't have a lot of money, so we had to do whatever we could to earn some. But then, a year later, she was ready for her first major role in a movie. We were all excited to see her so happy. It didn't last, however, as the day the last of the filming was to be done, she suddenly committed suicide. Looking into it, I learned that another actress, Shimizu Hana, had bullied everyone into giving her the role. My sister was really looking forward to the role. To have it taken away from her so suddenly, drove her to suicide. But then, Shimizu became famous and in interviews, never even acknowledged that the only reason for her fame is the role she took away from my sister. As revenge, I changed my name, tracked her down and applied for a job as her personal chef. After that, it was just a matter of waiting until today, the very day of my sister's suicide, 10 years ago."

After he is put in handcuffs and brought away, the chauffeur approaches Conan and Ran. "By the late Shimizu-san's request, I'd like to give you this letter. Please read it."

Conan opens it and reads.

 _Conan-kun,_

 _if you're reading this, I'm no longer alive. As you probably noticed when you first came here, I briefly talked with Matsumoto. It was all to arrange this. I asked him to give you this letter in the event that I was murdered and you figured out who did it. The moment Nakano came before me, there was a feeling something was familiar about him. When I secretly looked into him, I learned his real name and the most probable reason he had for coming here. My suspicious were confirmed when I received the threatening letter. While I said I looked into it before going to Mouri-san, what I really did at that time was preparing this letter, along with the rest of the contents of this envelope. As thanks for bringing him to justice, I would like to give you a special reward. It's included in this envelope. It's probably going to be a nice surprise, but please don't refuse it._

Conan quickly looks in the envelope and sees a second piece of paper in it. When he pulls it out, he and Ran are shocked to see it's a check for 1.5 million yen.

* * *

 **The idea of Conan becoming rich isn't something you see a lot (if at all) in fanfiction. Chances are, people don't really like it. Anyway, that's that for this chapter. More will come, so please be patient.**


	9. Chapter 9: Returning Friend, New Case

After the murder of Shimizu Hana, Conan and Ran are in the limousine as Matsumoto Minoru. On the way, they talk about the check they received.

"Ran-neechan, I think Kogoro-ojisan will be quite surprised to hear how much we received." Conan says.

Ran nods before saying "I think so too, Conan-kun. The problem is, what do we do with it?"

* * *

An hour later, they're back at the Mouri Detective Agency.

"We're hom-" they both say as they open the door, only to be surprised at what they see.

"Yo! Ku...Conan-kun and Neechan! It's been a while. How're you guys doing?", says no-one other than Hattori Heiji.

While Conan gave Heiji a quick glare for nearly making another name slip-up, he quickly said "We're fine, Heiji-niichan. How are you and Kazuha-neechan doing? Also, why didn't she come along?"

"Well, she said something about having to run a few errands." he says nervously, before adding "But that's not important right now. I heard the news. Decided to show your own detective skills at an actual crime scene, huh, boy?"

Conan nods. "Yep, looks like I outsmarted even Kogoro-ojisan that time. Actually, because of that article, me and Ran had another request for help, from a famous actress, known as Shimizu Hana."

"Oh yeah, I heard about her. Well-known across Japan. What happened there?"

After this, he explains about Shimizu Hana's visit, how she refused Kogoro's help and finally, what happened at the mansion.

After a minute of silence, Heiji speaks up. "So, let me get this straight. You solved a murder, got a letter in which the victim said she expected to be killed and even received money for solving the case? How much was it?" he asks.

Conan is silent for a few seconds before answering. "To be honest, you probably wouldn't believe me if I just said how much it was, so let me show you."

With that, he pulled out the check he received. Heiji and Kogoro take one look at it before their eyes turn wide.

"1.5 MILLION yen!?" they both shout, at the same time.

Heiji, in obvious surprise, quickly says "Can I talk privately with Conan-kun for a bit? I can't believe what he received."

After that, he and Conan go to the top of the stairs outside the Detective Agency's door.

"Kudo, are you sure you should show off your real skills like this, while you still look like a 7-year-old? If I read about your skills in the newspaper, _they_ definitely would have as well." Heiji asks, concerned.

Conan replies "I'm sorry, Hattori, but I can't hide my real genius from Ran and Kogoro any longer. Because of what happened nearly a month ago."

Conan explains about what happened at Teitan. The test mix-up, the entrance exam for enrollment in Teitan High and the cover story he made up back then, about how, in America, he was often bullied for being so smart, to the point where his mother decided it would be best for him to hide how smart he is.

"Huh. Smart little cover story, I'll say, but I'm worried about what will happen if Neechan would find out you lied."

"That is a possibility. However, even then, she won't think me and Shinichi are one and the same, because I asked Megure to make his "death" official."

Just then, they hear something being put into the mailbox at the bottom of the stairs. When they look, they notice nobody is there. Right away, Conan checks the inside and finds a single white card, with a drawing on its back that Conan recognizes anywhere.

* * *

 **The big DC fans will probably realize who put the card in the mailbox. I need some time with next chapter, to think everything about it through.**


	10. Chapter 10: The Past and the Present I

Realizing the card came from Kaito Kid, Conan quickly turned it around and saw what was written on the back.

 _Hello, Tantei-kun._

 _I had a feeling you'd eventually get famous for your detective skills. I am aware this is an unusual request from me, but I need help. During one of my heists, a murder happened and the police suspect me, even when that inspector tried to convince them it's impossible. All I know is, it happened during the thirty seconds the lights went out, right before my announced heist time. Other than the victim's name, Fujimoto Tatsuro (_ _不二本 竜郎) and that he's an art collector, I know nothing of what happened. I will know if you solved it, in which case, I promise to not do another heist for a year._

* * *

After reading it, Heiji asks "Kudo, are you sure you're going to work on this case? It's odd how a case like this wasn't in the newspapers."

"I know it's odd. For the details, we're going to ask if Takagi knows anything."

Right away, Conan goes to Ran. "Ran-neechan, me and Heiji-niichan are going out for a bit. We'll be back soon."

Ran responds "All right, Conan-kun, but don't stay away for too long!"

* * *

At the police station, Conan and Heiji quickly find Takagi. "Takagi-keiji, did anything happen recently, involving the Kaito Kid?" he asks.

Surprised, Takagi asks, "How do you know that, Conan-kun? In order to make sure the Kaito Kid isn't falsely suspected, we've withheld info that implies he's the killer."

"That doesn't matter, could you tell us the details?" he asks.

After thinking for a minute, Takagi nods. "At the scene, other than the victim and Kaito Kid, there were 4 suspects. Todoka Itsuki (畄上 一可), Nishikami Natsuko (西上 夏子), Minamoto Takeru (源 手怪十) and Nakayama Ryuuta (穴茨士 竜太). They're the professionals who brought the jewel to the museum where it was to be displayed. Just before the lights went out, those four, along with the victim, were near the case. After the lights went back on, the jewel was gone and the victim was on the floor, with a knife through his heart."

Conan thinks, after hearing this. " _So, at the same time Kid stole the jewel, someone else killed the victim. It's unlikely there are any fingerprints on the knife. How did the killer stab the victim in the dark? Hold on, in order to know if the case was solved, Kid would be-!"_

Right away, he asks "Takagi-keiji, may I see the pictures of the scene?"

One minute later, the officer comes back with the photos. On the first one, it shows the victim's body, with a knife in his chest. On the second, there are the museum exhibitions that surround the empty case and the body. A large vase and several paintings.

"Next is the photo showing everything the victim had on him when he died." Takagi says, as he shows Conan and Heiji the third photo. On it, they see the Kid's notice card, a cell phone with blood on one side and a wallet.

After that, Conan asks "Takagi-keiji, could you tell us what the suspects had on them?"

Takagi explains "The first suspect, Todoka-san, only had a pen. The second, Nishikami-san, had a wallet of the same type as the victim and a glow-in-the-dark wristwatch. The third suspect, Minamoto-san, had a cell phone and small notebook. Finally, Nakayama-san only had a set of keys for both the jewel case and the car that brought them to the museum."

" _From these details, I already know who the culprit is and how it was done. What bothers me is how familiar this all seems."_ Conan thinks before asking "Takagi-keiji, could you ask the suspects to come here? I figured out who the culprit is."

"Right away!"

Suddenly, Conan asks "One minute, Takagi-keiji. Before that, I need you to look into something, regarding the motive. Would anyone among the suspects and victim have any connection to these two people?" before whispering the names.

A couple of minutes later, Takagi comes back, with a DVD disc in his hand. "Conan-kun, I looked into the connection between them, when I found this. Before we see this, let me tell you what you asked. As you thought, one of the suspects does have a connection to one of those two. In fact, he really admired that person, from what I could find out about him."

When Takagi slides the DVD into the player, he turns on the TV. It shows Fujimoto holding a press conference, in which he shows off three paintings he has with him, each depicting something different. One has a red flower on it, the second has a golden moon and the third shows a white bird in a snow field. Suddenly he shouts "This artist has completely disgusted me with his actions!" before breaking each of the paintings in half, followed by audible gasps from the journalists.

" _So that's the killer's motive. It also explains why the trick seemed so familiar to me. With this, there is no doubt. That person killed Fujimoto-san, for openly destroying the paintings of the one he admired."_

* * *

 **So, that's chapter 10. All the clues in regards to the culprit, the motive and where the jewel is are here. It'll be a lot easier if you know more about the manga published so far.**


	11. Chapter 11: The Past and the Present II

p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"After 15 minutes, the four suspects arrive at the police station./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I understand you have figured out who killed Fujimoto-san?" asks the tallest man, Nakayama Ryuuta (font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"穴茨士 竜太/span/font)./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Takagi answers "The police didn't, but this smart child did." before pointing to Conan./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"One of the other three recognizes him immediately. "Aren't you the one known as Japan's youngest detective, Edogawa Conan? It's an honor to meet you. My name is Todoka Itsuki (font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"畄上 一可/span/font). I suppose that, in this case, there is no doubt you do know who committed this heinous crime."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Suddenly, one of the other two interrupts. It's the one female suspect, Nishikami Natsuko (font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"西上 夏子/span/font). "Hold on, Todoka-san. I know he appeared in the newspapers for his supposed "detective skills", but who can say he really has those skills? Even if he does, I don't think he could have figured out how the killer could be anyone other than the Kaito Kid."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The 4th suspect, Minamoto Takeru (font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"源 手怪十/span/font), voices his agreement. "That's right. It happened when the lights were out for a mere 30 seconds. No matter how you look at it, it could only have been possible for that thief."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""That's exactly what the killer wanted us to think." Conan explains. "Before I begin my deduction, could I show you what is the most likely motive for the murder?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"When all four nod, Conan turns on the TV, showing the same press conference he watched. Once the victim showed off the three paintings, Conan pauses the video, before asking "Do any of you recognize these paintings?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Right away, Nishikami answers. "I know! Aren't those the paintings by Oikawa Takeyori (font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"及川 武頼/span/font), that painter who was arrested for the murder on his father-in-law, Kanbara Haruhito (font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"神原 晴仁/span/font)?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""That's right." Conan says. "Back then, he committed the murder in total darkness as well. He managed to find his way to the victim by calling a cell phone, that as a result, glowed in the dark, marking the exact location of the victim. In this video, the current victim, Fujimoto-san, openly voiced his disgust towards what Oikawa did, by breaking the paintings. This angered the culprit, who is right here. Just like back then, the Kaito Kid was initially blamed for the murder."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Curious, Todoka asks "Why are you bringing up such an awful case?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Because I realized that this video clearly shows the motive for the murder." Conan explains. "Once I realized that, it became clear the killer replicated the trick Oikawa used back then, out of his respect towards him."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Realizing something, Nakayama asks, nervously, "You mean, how he used the light from a cell phone to find the victim? Does that mean the killer is the one person here who had a cell phone at the time?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Conan nods. "It could only be you! Minamoto Takeru! As for evidence, we can just check with the phone company. If there was a call, made with your cell phone, right before the time of death, it proves you killed him."/p  
hr style="margin: 5px 0px; border: 0px; background: -webkit-gradient(linear, 0% 100%, 100% 100%, from(#ffffff), color-stop(0.1, #cbcbcb), color-stop(0.9, #cbcbcb), to(#ffffff)) #cbcbcb; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;" noshade="noshade" size="1" /  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"After Minamoto confessed to the murder, the other suspects were let go. Unbeknownst to one of them, Conan is following him. At a dead end, Conan talks./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""As soon as I saw your name, I knew you had to be the Kaito Kid in disguise. I first had such a feeling when I saw what you wrote on that card."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"emI will know if you solved it, in which case, I promise to not do another heist for a year./em/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""There is only one way for you to quickly learn if I solved the case. That is, if one of the suspects was you in disguise. Isn't that right, "Todoka Itsuki"?/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Showing his usual grin, he asks "How did you know it was me?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Conan answers "When you convert "Todoka Itsuki" to hiragana (font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"とどか いつき/span/font) and then re-arrange them correctly, you get Kaito Kid (font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"怪盗キッド/span/font). You did something very similar, during the case at that snowy lodge, when you went under the name "Doito Katsuki". Once I saw that name among the list of suspects, I knew it had to be you. Of course, there were some other clues. While you were openly confident that my presence meant the case was solved, Nishikami and Minamoto had doubts, even though all three of you knew about me from the newspaper. That meant of those three, only you were personally aware of my deductive abilities. Furthermore, you asked me about "that awful case", a phrase you wouldn't use unless you have a personal dislike of that case, which is only natural for the Kaito Kid, as the blame was initially put on him. As for the stolen jewel, it was clear it was in the large vase near the body."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Heh. As smart as ever, I see, Tantei-kun." he says before throwing away the disguise. "As I said in the card, I'll be away for a year. However, don't think that this means my next heist will be as easy as before. With a year's time to plan, I will outsmart you!"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"With that, he flew away./p  
hr style="margin: 5px 0px; border: 0px; background: -webkit-gradient(linear, 0% 100%, 100% 100%, from(#ffffff), color-stop(0.1, #cbcbcb), color-stop(0.9, #cbcbcb), to(#ffffff)) #cbcbcb; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;" noshade="noshade" size="1" /  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Nakamori, happy with how Conan solved this case and cleared the Kid's name, took him to a nearby restaurant to treat him./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Inspector Nakamori," Conan said. "If I may ask, why did you bring me to such an expensive-looking restaurant after I solved that case"?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Nervously, Nakamori answered. "Well, after the press conference I held in regards to that case, I noticed a flyer for this restaurant on one of the press seats. When I looked it over, I found a strange note."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Right away, he shows Conan the note. It said:/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"emThis restaurant is the perfect place for celebrating a solved case. Make sure the little boy comes along./em/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"After they finished and were about to leave, they heard a scream. When Conan rushed over, he found a body, in the restroom./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"10 minutes later, the police is there. "The victim has been identified as Matsuno Taiki (font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"松野 太紀/span/font), a well-known freelance journalist. It seems he held this note in his hands."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The officer showed it to Sato, who immediately showed it to Conan. It reads:/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"emI've hit the jackpot! After 20 years of investigating, I managed to find out the true identity of that mass murderer, nicknamed Merlot. I have already arranged a meeting with that person, hoping to convince them to give up everything they know about their organization or risk being exposed./em/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Once Sato saw what was written on the paper, she went completely silent. Conan notices this ans asks "What's the matter, Sato-keiji?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I'm not sure if I should tell you something like this, but I know you're able to solve this case. I heard about it from a retired officer a while ago. 20 years ago, someone called the police after hearing numerous gunshots coming from a warehouse. When we got there, there were dozens of bodies, all dressed in black. While most were already dead, one of them lived just long enough to tell us all the killings were done by one person. He called that person "Merlot". Because that was the only clue we had, the case is unsolved to this day." she told Conan, before asking one of the officers "Are there any suspects?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The officer reports "According to a witness, there were three people who entered and left the restroom, before the body was found. Their names are Morikawa Toshiyuki (font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"森川 智之/span/font), Kosugi Jurota (font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"小杉 十郎太/span/font) and Nakagawa Akiko (font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"中川 亜紀子/span/font)."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"After looking at the paper again, Conan notices something written on the back. Turning it over, he sees what looks like set of kanji that appears to have been written in a hurry. It says: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"七瀬美雪/span/font/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""emThis set of kanji can be read in numerous ways, like "Nana-Se-Mi-Yuki" or "Shichi-Sei-Yoshimi-Setsu". While it looks like a dying message, I don't see how this points to any of those three. However, from the story alone, there is no doubt Merlot is the current killer and one of those three. I already have an idea as to who it is, but I just need evidence."/em/p  
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p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"strongSo, that's it for chapter 11. Sorry to have kept you all waiting. I know, it's rather sudden for another murder to occur so soon after this one, but the new murder will be the beginning of the end for the BO (in this fanfic). Once again, all the clues you need are in this chapter./strong/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"strongAs for the murder from the previous chapter, there were several references to past manga cases./strong/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"strongThe main one being the "Four Masterpieces" case from Volume 53. The other one is the "Magic Lovers" case from Volume 20./strong/p 


	12. Chapter 12: The Past and the Present III

p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Even though Conan already has an idea as to who committed the murder, he still needs evidence. Suddenly, something occurs to him./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""emIf I'm right, then Merlot is one of those three. This is a problem, if I tell her who Merlot most likely is, she'll be curious about what I know."/em/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Right away, he asks Sato to interview each of the suspects. From the interviews, Conan notices something off about one of the three./p  
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p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"That night, Conan confronts the killer./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""When I first learned about what happened 20 years ago, my suspicions immediately went to you. After all, Merlot is the name of a wine. If my guess about the Organization's code-name trend is correct, you can only be the sole female suspect. Isn't that right, Nakagawa Akiko. No, Merlot?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Surprised, she asks "I can tell you became suspicious of me after asking that officer, but what made you certain?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""It was what happened during the interview that made me certain it was you."/p  
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p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""emSato-keiji, could you ask each of the suspects a single question. I'm sure that alone will narrow it down to only one."/em/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"em"Of course, Conan-kun. What do you want me to ask them?"/em/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"em"Only this: "Does the name Merlot mean anything to you?"/em/p  
hr style="margin: 5px 0px; border: 0px; background: -webkit-gradient(linear, 0% 100%, 100% 100%, from(#ffffff), color-stop(0.1, #cbcbcb), color-stop(0.9, #cbcbcb), to(#ffffff)) #cbcbcb; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;" noshade="noshade" size="1" /  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"em"Does the name Merlot mean anything to you, Kosugi-san?"/em/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"em"I'm sorry, but I have never heard that before."/em/p  
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p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""emDoes the name Merlot mean anything to you, Morikawa-san?"/em/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"em"No. Is there some significance to such an odd name?"/em/p  
hr style="margin: 5px 0px; border: 0px; background: -webkit-gradient(linear, 0% 100%, 100% 100%, from(#ffffff), color-stop(0.1, #cbcbcb), color-stop(0.9, #cbcbcb), to(#ffffff)) #cbcbcb; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;" noshade="noshade" size="1" /  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""emDoes the name Merlot mean anything to you, Nakagawa-san?"/em/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"em"...I'm sorry, but, no, it does not."/em/p  
hr style="margin: 5px 0px; border: 0px; background: -webkit-gradient(linear, 0% 100%, 100% 100%, from(#ffffff), color-stop(0.1, #cbcbcb), color-stop(0.9, #cbcbcb), to(#ffffff)) #cbcbcb; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;" noshade="noshade" size="1" /  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""From the hesitation in your reply, it became clear you were the only one hiding something about the name, suggesting that you're the only one who knew of the name's significance."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Nakagawa was silent for a minute, before giving up. "I see there's no fooling you, though I am rather surprised to see a child like you knowing so much about the Organization. You're right, I killed that crazy journalist. For 20 years, I've had regrets about ending so many lives in that warehouse. I knew that, if I ever went to the police, I would be killed on the spot. For 20 years, I prepared things that would ensure my survival, even if I were to talk. With those preparations complete, I intended to go to the police. However, that journalist, who investigated the shooting from back then, somehow knew I was Merlot and what I looked like. Luckily, he did not know my real name, which is why I went with the fake name "Nanase Miyuki". I didn't intend to kill him at first, but that changed during our conversation."/p  
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p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""emSo, Matsuno-san, I will answer all your questions about the shooting, on the condition that you do not reveal my name in the article. I really don't want my life to be in danger after it's published."/em/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"em"Heh. To think a cold-blooded killer is so naive. Do you really think I care about such a thing? All that matters is that I reveal the truth behind the shooting from 20 years ago."/em/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"em"Why, you...!"/em/p  
hr style="margin: 5px 0px; border: 0px; background: -webkit-gradient(linear, 0% 100%, 100% 100%, from(#ffffff), color-stop(0.1, #cbcbcb), color-stop(0.9, #cbcbcb), to(#ffffff)) #cbcbcb; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;" noshade="noshade" size="1" /  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Without thinking, I immediately asked him to go to the toilet to talk in private. Once we were there, I attached a silencer to my pistol and shot him. So, what are you gonna do now, little detective?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"em"That's odd."/em Conan thinks to himself. em"Why am I getting the feeling that she's not telling the whole story?"/em/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Conan says "I will ask Sato to ensure you're under protection while you reveal everything you know about the Organization. How does that sound?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Merlot thinks for a minute, before deciding. "That sounds fair. Considering how smart you are, I'm sure you've already realized the name I gave the police, "Nakagawa Akiko" is also fake. My real name, since birth, has always been Kimeru Roko (font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"鬼目下 朗子/span/font). Goodbye for now, little detective."/p  
hr style="margin: 5px 0px; border: 0px; background: -webkit-gradient(linear, 0% 100%, 100% 100%, from(#ffffff), color-stop(0.1, #cbcbcb), color-stop(0.9, #cbcbcb), to(#ffffff)) #cbcbcb; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;" noshade="noshade" size="1" /  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Less than 30 minutes after the conversation with Merlot, Conan went back home. There, Ran had just finished cooking dinner./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Conan-kun, where have you been this time?" she asks, angrily. "I know you could be a better detective than my father, but you're still only 7 years old. Eat quickly and then we need to finish our homework for tomorrow."/p  
hr style="margin: 5px 0px; border: 0px; background: -webkit-gradient(linear, 0% 100%, 100% 100%, from(#ffffff), color-stop(0.1, #cbcbcb), color-stop(0.9, #cbcbcb), to(#ffffff)) #cbcbcb; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;" noshade="noshade" size="1" /  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"strong...Has it really been over three months since my last update? It didn't feel like it has been that long. The reason it took so long is that I've been really busy with school. Also, I haven't been all that motivated to write fanfiction lately, which is why this chapter is shorter than usual and not as good as previous chapters. Sorry to have made you all wait./strong/p 


	13. Chapter 13: To Tottori

Three days after the restaurant murder, for which Kimeru Roko, A.K.A Merlot, was arrested, Conan is at the police station, by her request.

"Conan-kun, it seems Kimeru-san wants to talk to you about something in private. I'll let you talk to her, but please be careful," Takagi explains, before letting Conan in.

Once inside, he and Kimeru stare at each other, before Conan asks "Merlot, what do you want to talk about?"

Merlot smirks. "Going straight to the point, little detective? Very well then. In my time in the Organization, I was informed of a secret base in Kurayoshi, a city in the Tottori prefecture. If you go there, you may end up learning more about us, if you want to."

* * *

That night, in an abandoned warehouse, Gin and Vodka arrive. When they stand in front of the monitor inside the warehouse, it turns on, showing their boss, a black silhouette, talking in a distorted voice. " _Gin and Vodka, I had you two come here to inform you that three days ago, our agent Merlot was arrested for murder. According to my sources, she is willing to offer information about us in exchange for a reduced sentence. I have also received word that the little boy, "Edogawa Conan", has been told of the secret base in Kurayoshi. Do whatever you want to make sure he does not make it there."_

Then, the TV turns off.

"Boss, what are you going to do about that kid?" Vodka asks.

Thinking about it, Gin is silent for a minute, before answering. "I shall contact our newest code-named member, Whisky. I have been told he is an expert in explosives and a former architect. I'll leave it to him to eliminate that little brat before he becomes a genuine threat."

* * *

The next day, Conan asks Ran and Kogoro if he can go to Kurayoshi to visit some family. They agree, after which he goes to the station and boards the train. Once he's in one of the carriages he sits down, as the train departs.

During the journey, Conan notices a large man coming in, going straight for his seat.

"Hey, little kid, move it! This is my usual seat for the train to Kurayoshi and I'm not letting anyone take it from me!"

Before Conan can say anything, the man pushes him off the seat and takes it. Looking around the rest of the carriage, Conan sees there are no other available seats in the carriage and decides to move to the carriage next to it. When he sits down at the very back of the carriage, he notices a man wearing a suit, who constantly seems to look at his watch.

Suddenly, he hears a male voice coming from another part of the carriage.

"Come on, Hachiko, what's the problem with me sitting next to you?"

As soon as the man sits next to her, she moves away without saying anything. When she walks to another seat, she bumps into an old-looking man, who stepped outside the carriage for a minute, before going back to his seat. Conan doesn't think much of him, until he notices the man gets up and leaves again.

Suddenly, Conan hears something behind him. It was difficult to tell what it was, but it sounded like small bangs, which he could barely hear from where he was sitting.

When he looks outside the window in the door, he can't believe what he's seeing. The section of the bridge right behind the carriage Conan is in is collapsing, with all the carriages still on it falling down.

* * *

After the crash, the rest of the train is forced to stop at the nearest station, where all the passengers get off. When Conan gets off, one of the other passengers recognizes him.

 _"What is going on!? I had one of my men disguise as a ticket seller, in order to inform me of in which carriage that brat was going to sit, so I would know when to detonate the small bombs. There is no way he could've survived that!"_ he thinks to himself. Just then, one of the police officers at the scene recognizes Conan as well.

"Hey, isn't that Edogawa Conan, the 7-year-old genius?" he asks the inspector next to him, who nods.

"To see a famous child detective present at such a horrific train accident is quite a coincidence. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Guraio Nobuhiko (掠庵 信彦)"

What Conan says next, shocks the inspector. "I'm sorry, but I don't think it was an accident, inspector."

His eyes wide at what was said, he immediately pulls Conan aside and asks "What makes you think that?"

Right away, Conan explains about the small bangs he heard right before he saw the bridge collapse, while also mentioning the odd behavior of the three passengers.

The inspector nods. "Very well, I'll ask my men to question those three."

* * *

The first of the three to be questioned is the man in the suit.

"You want to ask me questions about the collapse of that bridge? Very well, but first, my name. It's Gekkou Gakuo (月光 学夫). I work at a company that has branches in both Tokyo and Kurayoshi. I often travel by train between the two branches."

"I see," the inspector says before asking "I was told you seemed to glace at your watch a lot. If you don't mind, could you explain why?"

"I was waiting for an important phone call from the Kurayoshi branch in regards to why I needed to go there. They told me they would call at a specific time, which is why I frequently checked my watch. I must say, the timing of this trip was quite convenient."

"Oh?" the inspector asks. "Why is that?"

"Oh, umm, I didn't mean to let that bit slip out," he nervously says, before sighing. "If you must know, inspector, there was a client my company helped with several months ago, who refused to pay for his services. It took a while, but we determined his location to be in Kurayoshi. I thought I would go there to take care of him myself."

* * *

Next was the female passenger who did not want to sit next to anyone.

"Before you ask any questions, let me first give my name. My name is Uso Hachiko (右左 八子). I was visiting my family, who lives near Kurayoshi. I visit about once a year, but I decided to go a bit earlier than usual, just to surprise them."

Right away, the inspector asks her about why she kept moving away from someone who wanted to sit next to her.

"About that, that was my ex-boyfriend. We broke up about a week ago, but he can't seem to get over it. It's almost as if he's stalking me. Anyone would be uncomfortable with someone like that trying to sit next to you."

* * *

Finally, the old man who kept moving from and to his seat.

"I can't remember how long it's been since I've been to a police station. That aside, I'm Bakufu Unshou (皃二 運昇). I live in Kurayoshi and I came back from visiting my grandchildren. At any rate, I still can't believe an attack happened on a train like this."

"Let's get to the point, Bakufu-san, I've been told you got up, walked to the next carriage and then came back, before suddenly doing it again. Why is that?"

"Oh, that?" he asks before explaining. "Next to the carriage I was on is the restaurant carriage. I just love their coffee, which is what I went to get. When I had finished it, I went back to my seat, forgetting to take my wallet with me. When I did remember it, I immediately went back to the carriage to retrieve it."

* * *

"So, Conan-kun?" the inspector asks. "Is there anyone even more suspicious after hearing what they told me?"

"While I have no evidence, there is one person who seems more suspicious than the other two," Conan says, before holding up one of the photos of the suspects. "Could you get your men to keep a close eye on this person? Make sure he has no way of knowing your men are following him"

* * *

 **So, there, I worked rather hard to get this chapter done. I'll admit, for this case, it's not very difficult to determine who the most likely culprit is in this, even if there aren't that many clues.**

 **Also, I came up with the names for the suspects and the inspector all by myself. There is a specific naming theme in their names. Who can figure it out first?**


	14. Chapter 14: Hotel Meeting Case - I

**Sorry to have kept you all waiting for the resolution of the train crash case, but I've been busy with college recently. However, as I got a break this week, I have time to write again, even if it's only a little bit. With that, here's the solution of the train crash case. I bet the culprit wasn't who you were expecting, if the guest reviews are any indication.**

* * *

That night, after the interrogations, one of the suspects runs to a back alley, where he pulls out his cell phone and types a message.

 _To: Gin_

 _Subject: Mission failure._

 _Gin, this isn't good. I don't know how, but my mission to eliminate that little boy failed. He's alive and in Kurayoshi!_

Before he could press send, the suspect is blinded by a bright light coming from the street.

"This is the police! You have no way out of here! We know you're the one behind the train crash!"

Just then, Conan steps forward.

"What do you mean, I'm the one behind the train crash!?" he asked. "Did you forget about the other two suspicious people? Their behaviour could have been for a different reason than they claimed!"

"I'm afraid not," Conan said. "After all, they gave stories that were easy enough to verify, unlike you. Furthermore, you slipped up when giving your statements to the police."

"What do you mean, I slipped up!?"

Conan explains. "It was simple. I was sitting at the very back of the carriage and I barely heard the small explosions that brought the bridge down. From the positions of the three suspects, none of them could've heard them."

As Conan talks, one of the lights slowly goes to the suspect's face, who shields his eyes.

"However, during the interrogations, you clearly mentioned you didn't believe an attack happened on that train, which implied you knew the truth about what caused the bridge collapse. Isn't that right, Bakufu Unshou?"

Realizing he's got no way out of it, Bakufu surrenders.

"Just my luck. I thought my plan to eliminate you was foolproof, and yet, you're still alive. I suppose I'm a failure to the Organization."

With that, he is arrested and put into one of the police cars.

* * *

The next day, Inspector Guraio brings Conan to a hotel in Kurayoshi.

"You're saying this Kimeru lady knows someone who wants to give you information about this Organization, Conan?" he asks.

Conan nods. However, just as they enter the hotel, they see a man, panicked, running out of the building, dropping a business card. Conan picks it up and looks at it.

Eriki Teruo (衿木 輝男)  
Newspaper salesman

Just then, one of the bellboys runs downstairs in a panic.

"One of the guests on the 8th floor has been shot!"

Hearing this, Conan and the inspector run towards an elevator, only to see an "Out of Order" sign on it. With no other choice, they run up the stairs, arriving at the victim's room about 7 minutes later.

"Damn it, the door is locked!" Guraio says, trying to open it. "Someone get the master key!"

"Right!" one of the bellboys says, before running downstairs, later coming back with the key.

Once the door is open, they see the body of a woman lying next to a cupboard, shot once in the head. As the inspector looks at the body, Conan notices one of the drawers of the cupboard has already been opened.

Noticing the victim's wallet in the open drawer, Conan pulls out an ID card, with the victim's photo on it: Yamira Miyuki (闇英 美雪)

Just then, the bellboy speaks up. "Umm, inspector, I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" inspector Guraio asks.

"Earlier, when I was cleaning the hallway, I heard a loud bang. Right after that, the door to this room opened and a man came running out, as he was in a hurry to get away."

"I see. Bring that man here!" he yells.

Suddenly, the door to the room next to the victim's opens. "What's with all this commotion?" the woman asks.

"It seems a murder has taken place in this room. Did you hear anything?"

The woman nods. "All I heard was a loud bang, but I didn't think much of it. After all, each room has balloons in it, as a commemoration of this hotel having been founded exactly 50 years ago."

"Forgive me for asking, but what is your name and occupation?" the inspector asks.

"Amakaji Kazuko (天梶 一子). I work at the restaurant across the street, as one of the-"

Before she could finish her sentence, they hear some noise from inside the room. When they look inside, they see a man get up from the bed, before he notices the other people in the room.

"What's going on here!?" he shouts, before noticing the body on the floor. "Is she...dead!?"

"I'm afraid so, sir." the inspector says. "Now, what's your name and why are you in this room?"

The man is silent for a minute before answering.

"Don't tell anyone, but I'm the victim's...secret lover. She said her husband was too abusive for her to put up with, so she went to see me once or twice a week, starting about two months ago. My name, by the way, is Numakuro Osamu (沼黒 修)."

"I see," the inspector says. "As this room was locked, Numakuro, I must inform you that you're a suspect in this case."

* * *

 **I know, it's rather sudden for a new case to begin so soon after the previous one has ended, but this is only the start of a series of cases that will get Conan closer to the BO with each one.**

 **Anyway, the suspects in this new case have been shown. However, not all clues for solving this case have been shown yet, as the next chapter will be all about the other clues there are to find. Also to note, the naming theme I used for these suspects and the victim is exactly the same as the suspects of the previous case and the inspector. Bonus points for anyone who is able to figure out what theme I used for these names, so good luck with that!**


	15. Chapter 15: Hotel Meeting Case - II

"As this room was locked, Numakuro, I must inform you that you're a suspect in this case."

"What do you mean, I'm a suspect in this case!?" Numakuro asks, angered. "I understand this room was locked when she was killed, but I was asleep in it! I couldn't have killed anyone!"

As Numakuro argues with the inspector, Conan looks around the room, before he steps on something. Looking at his feet, he sees a small needle, only a meter away from the victim's body. Just then, a police officer comes to the room, with the man that ran away earlier, behind him.

"Inspector! This was the man that you said ran away from this room, correct?" he asks.

Conan runs over to the man, holding out the business card. "Is this yours, sir?"

"Yes," the man answers, before recognizing him and the inspector as the ones who came into the hotel just as he ran out.

"Eriki Teruo, is it?" the inspector asks, showing him the body. "We have reason to believe you're a suspect in the murder of this lady."

"What!?" Eriki says. "That's impossible! She was still alive earlier!"

This intrigues Conan. "What do you mean?" he asks.

Eriki is silent for a minute before nervously answering. "N-N-Never mind, little boy. At any rate, inspector, I have nothing to do with whatever happened here."

"But what about the bellboy who saw you run out of this room?" the inspector asks.

"...He must be mistaken." Eriki says, rather nervously.

Realizing that Eriki won't say anything more, Conan investigates another part of the room. Near the bed, he sees small pieces of something red on the floor. He picks one piece up and feels that it's rather soft and rubbery. Looking around the room, he sees a tv, a set of 6 balloons with different colors, and a large bookcase.

Realizing something, he steps out of the room for a bit and goes to one of the bellboys outside.

"How did this hotel celebrate the 50th anniversary?" he asks.

The bellboy answers, "Every 10 years, we come up with a different theme to celebrate this occasion. This year, we decided to go with a rainbow theme, having decorated each room accordingly."

 _"I'm starting to get an idea of what happened in this room before the inspector and me arrived,"_ Conan thinks to himself. _"But I still need to figure out why that happened. Wait a minute..."_

Immediately, Conan looks closely at the lock of the door and sees a few scratches near the keyhole. Remembering the open drawer near the door, Conan walks over to one of the officers. "Could you check the drawers for this?" he asks, before whispering something to the officer.

5 minutes later, the same officer comes back. "We found what you asked for on three of the drawers. Strangely enough, they were on the victim's wallet as well."

 _"So, that definitely rules out one of the suspects, as far as the murder is concerned. However, that doesn't explain how the victim was murdered."_ Conan thinks.

Going over to Numakuro, he asks "Did you hear the loud bang that one of the bellboys mentioned hearing earlier?"

Numakuro shakes his head. "I haven't heard anything like that. Although, that does remind me of what happened on December 31st. Neighbors nearby were lighting fireworks, while I was asleep. They were hoping to wake me up, but they couldn't get me awake."

 _"This case is not making any sense!"_ Conan thinks. _"I can't think of any possible suspects. Maybe I need to think things over carefully."_

Just then, he hears the TV turn on, playing a video of the hotel they're in.

 _"So, sir, what makes this hotel so popular with tourists?"_ a journalist asks the owner of the hotel.

 _"We have something no other hotel has! Families who are unable to stay in the same room have no reason to worry! After all, you can go to them in an instant!"_

"I'm sorry, inspector! I accidentally sat on the remote!" one of the officers says, before turning it off.

 _"So that's it."_ Conan thinks. _"Now I know who killed the victim and how they did it without appearing to have set foot in this room."_

Before he can inform the inspector of what he's figured out, Conan notices dark blue pieces of something rubbery, similar to the red ones he found earlier.

* * *

 **I know this chapter is rather short, but it is packed full of clues that will help you figure out exactly what happened in the hotel room. Furthermore, here's another challenge for you guys, if you're interested. In both this case and the previous case, I used a special theme to create the character names. Can you figure out what the theme is? For this, here's the names I came up with, making use of this theme:**

 **Gekkou Gakuo**  
 **Bakufu Unshou**  
 **Uso Hachiko**  
 **Guraio Nobuhiko**  
 **Yamira Miyuki**  
 **Numakuro Osamu**  
 **Eriki Teruo**  
 **Amakaji Kazuko**

 **Now then, see you next time!**


	16. Chapter 16: Hotel Meeting Case - III

"Inspector Guraio," Conan said, smirking. "I think I've figured out who killed Yamira. Or, at the very least, who is the most suspicious in this case."

"I'm already aware of just who to arrest." the inspecotr said. "Eriki Teruo, you're under arrest for the murder of Yamira Miyuki."

Before he can take out handcuffs, Conan stops him. "I'm sorry, inspector, but Eriki is not the killer."

"What do you mean?" he asks. "Didn't you remember what that bellboy said?"

 _"Earlier, when I was cleaning the hallway, I heard a loud bang. Right after that, the door to this room opened and a man came running out, as he was in a hurry to get away."_

"That man ran away after the gunshot and there's no doubt that was Eriki." the inspector explained.

"However," Conan began explaining. "Do you remember what you yourself said after we arrived at the door to this room?"

 _"Damn it, the door is locked!" Guraio said, trying to open it. "Someone get the master key!"_

 _"Right!" one of the bellboys says, before running downstairs, later coming back with the key._

"The door was locked after both the bellboy and Eriki went downstairs. Tell me, inspector, who would have closed and locked that door, other than Yamira herself?"

"But wait," one of the officers asks. "If Eriki isn't the killer, how do you explain the loud bang and him running out of this room right after that? If he's not the killer, why would he be running out of that room in a hurry?"

"I admit I didn't get that at first," Conan answers, holding up the small red pieces he found. "However, I started to get an idea of what happened after noticing scratches on the door and these."

"What is this?" Guraio asked, holding one of the pieces. "It feels like it's made of rubber."

"I believe it's a piece of a balloon," Conan explained. "To someone who never actually heard a gunshot before, like a bellboy, the bursting of a balloon can sound similar to a gunshot. That bang was enough to scare Eriki away, who ran out of the room right after it burst. Because the bellboy thought it was a gunshot, he thought that was the moment Yamira was shot, running downstairs to let the other staff members know."

Just then, Eriki asked Conan a question. "Why would the sound of a mere balloon popping scare me that much?"

"It's simple," Conan said before turning to another officer. "What did you notice about what I asked you to check?"

The officers reads from the report he's holding. "Fingerprints that match Eriki Teruo's have been found on the open drawer of the cupboard, as well as on the victim's wallet inside it."

It didn't take long for inspector Guraio to figure it out. "I get it! Eriki picked the door's lock in order to steal the victim's wallet. However, before he could take the wallet, Yamira used a needle to pop one of the balloons. Thinking it was a warning shot, he ran out of the room. So, if the victim was still alive at the time Eriki ran out of the room...The killer must be Numakuro, in that case!"

To his surprise, however, Conan shakes his head. "Earlier, he told me something rather interesting."

 _"I haven't heard anything like that. Although, that does remind me of what happened on December 31st. Neighbors nearby were lighting fireworks, while I was asleep. They were hoping to wake me up, but they couldn't get me awake."_

"If fireworks can't get him awake, it means he's a heavy sleeper," Conan explains. "I highly doubt that in the 15 minutes it took us to reach this room, he could've gone back to sleep after committing the murder. Thus, it can't be Numakuro either."

Annoyed, the inspector asks "If neither Eriki nor Numakuro is the killer, then who is!? There's nobody else in this locked room!"

"However," Conan explains. "I can think of a way the killer entered and left this room. Didn't you hear what was said on that TV when it was accidentally turned on?"

 _"We have something no other hotel has! Families who are unable to stay in the same room have no reason to worry! After all, you can go to them in an instant!"_

The inspector thinks for a minute before realization strikes him. "Does that mean there is a way to go from one room to another without going into the hallway?" he asks.

Conan nods. "Exactly. Knowing this, the lady in the room next door, Amakaji Kazuko, is a possible suspect. But first, we need to examine the wall carefull-"

Suddenly, he's interrupted by a voice behind him.

"There's no need to examine the wall or search my room. I admit that I'm the one responsible for the murder of Yamira Miyuki."

When he looks behind him, he sees Amakaji standing there, a pistol with a silencer falling to the floor.

* * *

After Amakaji is led away, Numakuro approaches Conan.

"So, Edogawa Conan, there was something I wanted to let you know about," he said.

"Does it have something to do with the thing I found very odd about this room?" Conan asked.

Puzzled, Numakuro asked, "What do you mean?"

Conan explains. "I asked a bellboy about the decorations made to each room for the 50th anniversary of the hotel earlier."

 _"This year, we decided to go with a rainbow theme, having decorated each room accordingly."_

Conan continues his explanation. "A rainbow has seven colors. Despite this, however, I found signs of there having been eight of these, when there should have been seven," He said, pointing at something in another part of the room.

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

 **And with that, the true killer has now been arrested, though some things do seem a bit far-fetched, now that I look back.**

 **For now, this fanfic will be on hiatus, as I will begin work on a completely original fanfic, for the Kindaichi Case Files manga. If you don't know, this is a detective manga, written by Seimaru Amagi or Yozaburo Kanari, depending on the series, and drawn by Fumiya Sato. The main difference between this manga and Detective Conan is this:**

 **Detective Conan features mainly small murder cases with a single victim and a small number of clues.**

 **Kindaichi Case Files have murder cases of at least 6 chapters, where most of the time multiple people are killed and a large number of clues are hidden.**

 **Some of the early planning for the fanfic I'm going to make of this manga has already been done. The specific case, character names, location and such things. It will basically be a continuation of a case that actually occurred in the manga, with some characters returning. Because of this, a special summary of the original manga case will be put online later this week, in order to help you guys understand the fanfic a bit more.**

 **One more thing to keep in mind: In The New Life so far, I've been typing names in the Japanese format of FamilyName-GivenName, which will not change. However, in the Kindaichi fanfiction I have planned, this will be different, where I will write names in the English format of GivenName-FamilyName.**


	17. Cancellation Notice

I'm terribly sorry to those who have been waiting for a new chapter of this fanfiction, but it is now cancelled. I just can't find the motivation to write stories anymore. A real shame, because I had some things already planned.

With that said, farewell.


End file.
